1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same. More particularly, the invention relates to a semiconductor device structured to make MIS transistors therein smaller than before, and to a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device thus structured.
2. Description of the Background Art
There exists a known scaling rule that defines rules for designing MIS (metal insulator semiconductor) transistors. The MIS transistor has a gate insulating film constituted illustratively by an oxide film. On both sides of the gate insulating film are an electrode made of a metal and a gate region composed of a semiconductor. Impurities of a predetermined density are diffused throughout the semiconductor making up the gate region. According to the scaling rule above, if the gate length of the transistor is 1/K, then the density of impurities to be diffused in the gate region must be multiplied by a factor of K.
FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of a former single drain type transistor 10. The transistor 10 has a substrate 12 including a channel injection region 14. Formed near the surface of the channel injection region 14 are a first and a second source drain region 16 and 18. In a region interposed between the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18, the channel injection region 14 is covered with an insulating film 20. On top of the insulating film 20 is provided with a gate electrode 22.
If the former transistor 10 is illustratively an N channel transistor, then the channel injection region 14 must be a P-type semiconductor as well as the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18 must be an N-type semiconductor. The structure above is implemented by implanting impurities such as phosphorus (P) (called N-type impurities hereunder) into the channel injection region 14 and into the two source drain regions 16 and 18, and by implanting impurities such as boron (B) (called P-type impurities hereunder) also into the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18. The N-type impurities should have a concentration high enough to overcome the P-type impurities when implanted into the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18.
The former transistor 10 may be made smaller in size when the concentration of impurities in the channel injection region 14 is increased. However, higher impurity concentrations in the channel injection region 14 tend to increase the probability of carriers such as electrons and holes colliding with impurities in the same region 14. The greater the probability of carriers colliding with impurities in the channel injection region 14, the lower the operating speed of the transistor 10. It follows that as the former transistors 10 are made smaller in size, it becomes increasingly more difficult to maintain their high-speed performance.
Where the concentration of impurities is to be boosted in the channel injection region 14 of the former transistor 10, the impurity concentration in the first and the second-source drain region 16 and 18 thereof must also be increased. This means that as transistors 10 are getting smaller, impurities are more likely to be highly concentrated near PN junctions formed at boundaries between the first or second source drain region 16 or 18 on the one hand and the channel injection region 14 on the other hand.
The breakdown strength of the PN junction decreases as the impurity concentration nearby increases. The capacitance of the PN junction is greater the higher the impurity concentration nearby. For these reasons, it is difficult for former transistors 10 to be made increasingly smaller in size while maintaining their high junction breakdown strength and their low junction capacitance.
Furthermore, the intensity of an electric field generated in the PN junction is greater the higher the concentration of impurities nearby. The higher the field intensity levels of the PN junction, the more likely hot carriers to be appeared inside the transistor 10. As a result, former transistors 10 tend to be less stable in their operation the smaller they are in size. Miniaturization of former single drain type transistors 10 thus involves these and other related problems.
FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of another former transistor 24. The structure of the transistor 24 is a known one proposed to solve operation speed-related problems of the single drain type transistor 10. The transistor 24 has a gate region 26 near the surface of a substrate 12. The gate region 26 comprises a first and a second high-concentration channel injection region 28 and 30, as well as a low-concentration channel injection region 32. The first and the second high-concentration channel injection region 28 and 30 are formed near boundaries with the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18 respectively. The low-concentration channel injection region 32 is interposed between the first and the second high-concentration channel injection region 28 and 30.
FIG. 20 is a graphic representation showing impurity concentration levels in the transistor 24 which is taken along line XO-XXO in FIG. 19. Into the substrate 12 and gate region 26 of the transistor 24, impurities of the same type (e.g., P-type impurities such as boron (B)) are implanted. Into the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18, impurities opposite in type to those contained in the substrate 12 and gate region 26 (e.g., N-type impurities such as phosphorus (P)) are implanted. In FIG. 20, a broken line with reference character xe2x80x9cSubxe2x80x9d indicates a level of the concentration of impurities in the substrate 12. Reference characters CD, C/D and S/D represent levels of P- or N-type impurities distributed in the low-concentration channel injection region 32, in the first and second high-concentration channel injection region 28 and 30, or in the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18, respectively.
In the former transistor 24, as shown in FIG. 20, the impurity concentration (CD) of the low-concentration channel injection region 32 is set to be slightly higher than the impurity concentration (Sub) of the substrate 12. The impurity concentration (C/D) of the first and the second high-concentration channel region 28 and 30 is established so as to be higher than the impurity concentration (S/D) of the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18 in the transistor 28.
In the transistor 24, PN junctions are formed at boundaries between the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18 on the one hand and the first and the second high concentration channel region 28 and 30 on the other hand. As a result, depletion layers are formed near these boundaries.
Such depletion layers can expand in keeping with fluctuations of a voltage applied to the transistor 24. A depletion layer on the low impurity concentration side tends to be more expansive than a depletion layer on the high impurity concentration side.
For that reason, if the impurity concentration of the first and the second high-concentration channel region 28 and 30 is set to be lower than the impurity concentration of the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18 in the transistor 24, i.e., in the case of a setting opposite to that described earlier (this setting is called the comparative setting hereunder), depletion layers expand mainly on the side of the first and the second high-concentration channel region 28 and 30. In this case, the gate length is reduced in inverse proportion to the depletion layers being expanded. The operation threshold value of transistors varies with changes in their gate length. Thus the comparative setting above makes it difficult to maintain a stable operation threshold value especially when the transistor 24 is small in size.
In the setting of FIG. 20, by contrast, the depletion layers of the transistor 24 expand mainly on the side of the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18. In that case, the gate length of the transistor 24 is kept stable regardless of the depletion layers being expanded. For that reason, the former transistor 24 maintains its stable operation threshold value even when made small in size. In the manner described, the former transistor 24 secures a region of low impurity concentrations, i.e., the low-concentration channel injection region 32, inside part of the gate region 26 without destabilizing the operation threshold value.
In the low-concentration channel injection region 32 of the former transistor 24, the probability of carriers colliding with impurities is reduced. This allows the former transistor 24 to achieve a higher operation speed than the transistor 10 of FIG. 18 while maintaining a stable operation threshold value.
However, in the former transistor 24 of FIG. 19, impurities are highly concentrated near boundaries (i.e., PN junctions) between the first and the second source drain region 16 and 18 on the one hand and the first and the second high-concentration channel injection region 28 and 30 on the other hand. This means that the transistor 24 of FIG. 19, too, is plagued by the same problems as those affecting the transistor 18 of FIG. 18, i.e., a decline in junction breakdown strength, occurrence of a large junction capacitance, and promoted generation of hot carriers.
The present invention has been conceived to solve the previously-mentioned problems, and a general object of the present invention is to provide a novel and useful semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device capable of maintaining a stable operation threshold value, securing an enhanced level of junction breakdown strength, reducing junction capacitance to a minimum, and suppressing generation of hot carriers.
The above object of the present invention is achieved by a semiconductor device built on a base constituted either by a substrate including first impurities at a first predetermined concentration or by wells which include the first impurities at the first predetermined concentration and which are formed on a substrate. The semiconductor device includes a gate insulating film and gate electrodes formed on the base. The semiconductor device also includes a gate region formed under the gate insulating film. The semiconductor device further comprising a first and a second source drain region provided respectively on opposite sides of the gate region. The gate region is furnished in a central part thereof with a high-concentration channel injection region including at a second predetermined concentration second impurities of a type identical to that of the first impurities. The second concentration is higher than the first predetermined concentration. A first and a second low-concentration channel injection region including the first impurities at the first predetermined concentration are provided between the high-concentration channel injection region on the one hand and the first and the second source drain region on the other hand.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing easily and reliably the inventive semiconductor device offering the benefits outlined above.
The above object of the present invention is achieved by a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device on a base constituted either by a substrate including first impurities at a first predetermined concentration or by wells which include the first impurities at the first predetermined concentration and which are formed on a substrate. The method includes the following steps. Step of forming on the base an interlayer film having gate-use openings which open onto a gate region; step of forming a side wall of a predetermined thickness over an inner surface of each of the gate-use openings; step of implanting into the gate-use openings ions of second impurities of a type identical to that of the first impurities in order to form, in the vicinity of a surface of the base, a high-concentration channel injection region which is smaller than the gate region and which includes the second impurities at a second predetermined concentration higher than the first predetermined concentration; and step of forming outside the gate region a first and a second source drain region which include third impurities of a type different from that of the first impurities and which are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the gate region.
Other objects and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.